It was yet another big win for Peters Investments in a Perth major!
The gifts of Bob Peters as a breeder were on full display once again as Cosmic Crusader, his five year old son of Maurice (JPN), powered to victory in the $1.5million G1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) over the gallant Railway winner Watch Me Rock (Awesome Rock) in an pulsating finish to the last G1 of the Australian racing year.
The win was an emotional one for trainer Michael Grantham as it brought up the first G1 success of his training career.
It was even more emotional for Cosmic Crusader's jockey Clint Johnston-Porter, riding with a heavy heart after the sad passing of his grandfather overnight.
Ever the professional, Johnston-Porter gave $6 chance Cosmic Crusader a perfect ride, and the horse cleared out from his opposition in the straight after the 1800m contest was run at a very genuine pace.
Only one challenger was able to emerge from the chasers, and it was the Railway Stakes winner Watch Me Rock ($12), attempting to become only the fifth horse in history to do the Railway / Northerly G1 double.
He almost got there.
The ever so honest son of Awesome Rock produced his customary burst of acceleration for Nash Rawiller, and set about chasing Cosmic Crusader down.
The two exciting gallopers had kicked well clear of the pack and had the race to themselves at the last, with Cosmic Crusader hanging tough to defeat his gallant rival by a head and give Johnston-Porter his second G1 win, after the hoop piloted Port Lockroy to success in the Railway Stakes last year.
Evergreen warhorse and Railway runner up Western Empire (Iffraaj) was well in the market at $7 and rattled home for third, giving trainers Grant and Alana Williams both placegetters in the Ascot feature.
Western Empire, who ran second in 2021 when the race was still known as the Kingston Town Classic, was almost five lengths in arrears of the first two though!
The best of the eastern staters were Chris Waller’s $60-1 shot Osipenko (Pierro) who had crossed from a wide gate and raced on the hot speed, sticking on mightily to hold fourth narrowly from the Archibald stable’s Depth Of Character (Deep Field).
Punters had put a stack of money on Ciaron Maher’s quality Hellbent mare Vivy Air, but Vivy left her winning form in Sydney.
She was far from disgraced, finishing in the tight bunch of horses battling for the minor money which also included roughies In Good Order (American Pharoah) and Admiration Express (My Admiration)
The disappointment of the race was the $2.40 favourite, Dan Morton’s undefeated three year old King Of Light (Earthlight), who was twelve lengths off them as they approached the home turn.
This time, the exciting galloper could not produce that exhilarating turn of foot which has quickly become his trademark. He never got going at all and finished well down the track.
In retrospect, jockey William Pike's post-race comment about the horse being uncharacteristically “agitated” before his incredible WA Guineas win a fortnight ago might have been some indication that King Of Light was coming to the end of it for this prep, and that he put everything he had left into making that Guineas win happen - but hindsight is a gift as they say!
Cosmic Crusader’s stunning performance left little doubt that the gelding would have gone close in Ascot’s famous mile feature had he started.
Unlucky not to gain a run in the big one, the handsome son of Maurice recorded a facile victory in the G3 Listed WATC Carbine Club over 1400m last Saturday as some small consolation.
But it’s all academic now, because he’s a G1 winner!
“It makes you wonder what might have happened in the previous race," said a pleased owner/breeder Peters.
"It's very good to win this race."
Bob is used to collecting big wins.
Michael Grantham was a bit more jubilant!
"I don't know how to explain how I'm feeling," said the delighted trainer of his first taste of G1 glory.
"It's more the horse has done it.
I shouldn't say it's another race, because it's not like that - but it's another race. I'll be the same person I was coming into this race.
It's a massive team effort. People do this week after week in Sydney and Melbourne and it hasn't hit me yet!”
It was obviously a bittersweet moment for winning jockey Johnston-Porter.
"My Grandad passed away last night so it's pretty special winning this," he said.
"I knew my Pop was carrying me across the line. I thought I was the one getting in the horse's way for a few runs this prep.
“I've always thought he was a good animal. I was gutted when he won the Carbine Club. I thought he should have won the Railway that day, so for me to get it right today is pretty special."
The patiently handled Cosmic Crusader advances his record to 8 wins and 4 placings from 16 starts, with career earnings now topping $1.2 million.
Foaled in New Zealand, Cosmic Crusader is the seventh G1 winner among 34 stakes winners to date for Arrowfield's outstanding stallion Maurice.
The winner of six G1 races at home and abroad including the Hong Kong Mile, Hong Kong Cup and Champions Mile, Japan's 2015 HOTY is a remarkably versatile sire.
His Australian G1 winners include the VRC /ATC Derby /Australian Guineas hero Hitotsu, and the elite sprinter and Doomben 10,000 winner Mazu!
Cosmic Crusader is the best of two winners from the classy Street Sense (USA) mare Cosmic Storm, who was also bred and raced by Bob Peters, winning seven races including the G3 WATC La Trice Classic.
While in New Zealand, Cosmic Storm was served by Windsor Park Stud stallion Charm Spirit. The resulting filly foal was named Cosmic Spirit and is also trained by Grantham. She has had three starts for two wins and a third
Cosmic Storm is a half sister to dual Melbourne GI winner Superstorm and SW Mikimototo, and a full sister to SW Royal Command, being from the multiple Group winner Stormy Nova, a daughter of the great broodmare sire Metal Storm.
Her five stakes wins included the G3 WATC Champion Fillies Stakes, G3 Ernest Lee-Steere Classic and G2 Yallambee Classic in Adelaide.
Stormy Nova was originally owned by Peters Investments, but bred her last three foals for Oakland Park Stud, where the grand old mare sadly passed away last year.
Stormy Nova continued her winning ways as a broodmare, with all of her ten foals making it to the track, nine of them winners and four stakes winners - but there might be one more to come!
Her final foal was a royally bred colt by Too Darn Hot, who failed to meet his $400,000 reserve at the 2024 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale and was retained by Oakland Park, who head his ownership group which includes Ciaron Maher Racing.
Named Too Darn Stormy and racing out of the Dan Morton stable, the youngster showed a heap of promise in his two winter starts.
He displayed a fine turn of foot and won impressively on debut, with this season's brilliant stakes winning filly Playin'it Sweet behind him in third place.
Cosmic Crusader’s dam Cosmic Storm like her mum won the La Trice Classic, and was also victorious in the Listed Belmont Oaks among her four black type wins.
Stormy Nova's dam Pro Challenge was sired by the Mr Prospector son Protos, like Metal Storm an enduring source of quality in the WA broodmare population.
She too was a talented race mare, stakes placed and a reliable producer of seven winners but Stormy Nova was her standout offspring.
Pro Challenge was one of only three foals from her dam Carousel Challenge, and all were winners.
This female line is Colonial family 10 tracing to the taproot mare Betty, sired in the early days of NSW settlement by the famous Arabian stallion Hector out of the imported Old Betty.
Betty founded a successful and prolific family and her line continues strong in the West, notably through her descendant Todvega, daughter Vegahoney and grand daughter La Volta.
Like Cosmic Crusader, they descend from Fine Pim, a daughter of the longtime champion WA sire Sansofine who got four winners of the Railway Stakes and became an elite broodmare sire.
Stakes winners Terevega, Solemn, Honeywine, Priority Road, Balfine, Rodin, Coastwatch, Raf Attack, Catch A Fire, Seaburge, Leica Falcon, Mighty Boss, Bodacious Harmony, Zloties, Brave Mead and Pinito are of this family.
Cosmic Crusader is bred
Northern Dancer 5m x 5m
Mr Prospector x5m,5m
His damsire Street Sense was a sensation on the track becoming the first ever colt to take the Breeders Cup Juvenile / Kentucky Derby double.
The son of breedshaper Street Cry from the family of Danehill Dancer has been just as good at stud with 13 G1 winners to date.
Street Sense shuttled to Australia and Japan for Darley, and his G1 winners from his time in Oz were Golden Rose hero and successful sire Hallowed Crown, Doomben 10,000 winner Sense Of Occasion and the elite mares Politeness and Dixie Blossoms.
Street Sense is the damsire of the ill fated champion Roaring Lion.
His Australian G1 winning sons were out of a Zabeel mare (Sense Of Occasion) and from the immediate family of Zabeel (Hallowed Crown) - so easy to see the appeal of Maurice for the mare, as that stallion is out of a daughter of Zabeel's close relative Carnegie.
One of the most notable aspects of Stormy Nova's pedigree was her 4f x 5f breeding to the excellent son of My Babu, Milesian. His family (22-a) is one to which Maurice's damline is extensively linebred including via a line to Primero, the full brother to Milesian's second dam Athasi.
In fact much of Cosmic Crusader's pedigree is built around the affinities between the various branches of the 22 family, including Street Sense himself (22b), and Petingo (the all important grandsire of Street Cry's dam Helen Street) to name but two.
Another fantastic nick is Cosmic Storm's dual lines to Delta Judge - his daughters produced both Street Sense's damsire Dixieland Band and her own second damsire Protos.
Delta Judge is a close relation of Roberto, the tail male ancestor of Maurice.
Cosmic Storm carries sex balanced lines to Blue Hen Costa Sola by Worden, the ancestress of Street Cry and dam of Sun Prince - her fifth dam was sired by his son Moon Sammy.
Maurice brings multiple lines of Worden's close relative Norseman
Cosmic Crusader is linebred to Halo,his dam Cosmah and her half sister Natalma as well as to Halo's sire Hail To Reason, to whom Metal Storm is a relation, though distant.
His pedigree also creates duplications of His Majesty and Riverman and through the latter's sire Never Bend and Sadler's Wells, to Blue Hen Lalun.
Bob Peters has had plenty of faith in the mating of Maurice over Cosmic Storm and she has a 2YO colt by him called Cosmic Icon and then lost a filly by him, before missing to him last year.
That faith has been justified with Cosmic Crusader's quantum leap from Listed winner to G1 WFA glory, and it will be fascinating to see what challenge this exciting galloper will meet next!
Could an Australian Cup campaign be on the cards?
Maurice, who stands at Arrowfield Stud at a fee of $55,000 has 21 yearlings catalogued for Magic Millions and 17 for Inglis Classic.
